


Jacob Two-Two and the Birthday Blowout

by Katiebug586



Series: Jacob Two-Two and the Anthology Album [2]
Category: Jacob Two-Two - All Media Types
Genre: Buford is also baby, Buford will flaunt his trauma, Hurray for shit parents, Jacob is baby, Renee is literally a French Max TM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiebug586/pseuds/Katiebug586
Summary: When Jacob learns that it's Renee's birthday, he sets out to make sure it's one of her best. Oneshot set after 'Jacob Two-Two and the Perilous Pestilence'.Cowork with VJR22_6
Relationships: Jacob/Buford/Renee(But platonic)
Series: Jacob Two-Two and the Anthology Album [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549141
Kudos: 3





	Jacob Two-Two and the Birthday Blowout

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after 'Jacob Two-Two and the Perilous Pestilence', so if you haven't read it, some things might not make sense.

_ *Beep, beep* _

Renee woke up, groaning in disgust as she tried to turn her phone's alarm clock off. Here it was, the worst day of her life. The day she dreaded since about forever, the day where she would once again realize that nobody actually cared about her. But, it wasn’t like this was the first time such an event occurred. You see, today was actually…

Her birthday. 

While most kids her age would be ecstatic on a day like this, the now 14-year old had learned to despise it with every inch of her being. August 10th was by far the worst day of the year and she simply hated everything it stood for. 

It wasn’t because she was a grumpy grouch who hated everything and everyone, far from it, actually. It was just the fact she always had personal issues of some kind on that date, issues she’d rather not get into, let alone think about it.

It was such an awful event, that she never told her friends when it was, even though they constantly badgered her about it. She didn’t want their sympathy or their pity, all she wanted was to be left alone on such a horrid day.

Though she was pretty sure with how her age suddenly went from 11 to 12 and then 12 to 13 over past summer breaks, they at least figured out it was in the summer. At least Jacob must have, he was pretty smart, to say the least. While that’s not to say Buford wasn’t smart, he simply wasn’t the best at coming to logical conclusions. For starters, he thought his new prosthetics were ‘alien technology from the future’.

No, Buford, they are not. They’re stuff made to replace your actual legs which you lost while combating an illness back in February. Okay, that was kinda rude, but she can’t help it. Not when she feels so awful and irritable. And it wasn’t even his fault to begin with, so now she feels even worse. Great. At least he wasn’t here to witness her being such an awful friend.

Yeah, today was gonna suck.

But what was she gonna do? Tell her friends her whole life story and pity problems? No, absolutely not. She’d been taught to rely only on herself, her whole life, so she didn’t need them to be here for her or whatever. She’d be fine.

But then, a horrifying realization came to her. Back about a week ago, her friends asked her if she wanted to go to Benny’s ‘next Saturday’, which was unfortunately today. She couldn’t just turn her friends down due to her own personal issues, how jerkish would that be? So, she just had to suck it up and put on her fakest smile and pretend everything was alright, how hard could that be?

Very, very hard.

About an hour later, on the other side of town, two teenage boys were waiting for their friend. One of them was Jacob Two-Two, while the other was Buford Pugh. The two peas in a pod didn’t have to wait long for Renee to join them. However, she seemed to be in a more bitter mood than usual.

“Hey, Renee!” Buford called out, before noticing her upset look. “Geez, what’s up with you?”

Jacob was quick to elbow him, and Renee just rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. Just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night…”

“You know, I said that exact same thing almost 6 months ago, and then I almost died!” Buford said with a strange amount of happiness and cheer. He balanced awkwardly, still not used to his new ‘legs.’

“I was not aware zat you were keeping track…”

“He just keeps bringing it up, he hasn’t let himself forget that day yet,” Jacob said under his breath. “Maybe It’s so you know, he doesn’t go through that again?”

“I mean, zat was a razer traumatic experience, not just for Buford.” Renee cringed, remembering it all too well.

“I can hear you two, you know. And yes, Jacob is correct. I do have a naturally good memory as is, but I’d rather not get sick again and lose my arms! As sweet as robot arms sound, I think I’ll just stick with robolegs.”

Jacob let out an audible sigh. “All you have to do is tell us, or your parents, if you’re feeling sick. And don’t push yourself. Then, you won’t end up in the hospital and you won’t lose your arms. Alright?"

Buford nodded, taking in the extra information. "At least I can rest at ease now."

While her friends’ banter was usually tolerable, today it was simply gratingly annoying. But no, she couldn't let her anger show. Not to her friends.

"So, are we gonna go inside or what? I'm starving, starving!" Jacob cried, hunger crawling around in his stomach like a bug. While he sounded the same, Jacob had changed in many ways too. He HAD grown a bit taller, though not by much.

Renee led the way inside, she wasn’t really willing to handle Jacob today. Or Buford, for that matter. If Jacob was annoying, Buford was like nails on a chalkboard- No, again, that’s rude, Renee. These are your friends. Just do this one thing and you can mope around all day in your room. Stop. Being. Rude.

Jacob and Buford talked playfully as they walked in, but Renee was just quiet the whole time. Geez, Jacob, if you like Buford so much, why don’t you just marry him?! We can all throw a huuugeee wedding with cake and dumb music- No, bad Renee. They’re friends, they’re allowed to talk to each other, stop being selfish. Unfortunately, a mental image of Jacob and Buford getting married was now burned in her mind forever. Ugh- No, no. If they want to marry, they can marry. And you would support them, even though it’d be weird because they’re like kids.

Finally, there was their seat. All she wanted to do was eat and get out of there, perhaps food would distract her from the rude thoughts her mind had been playing all morning. She could honestly ‘zank ze stars’ that her friends couldn’t read minds. Their pity was the last thing she needed. Or them getting offended. That was the second to last thing she needed.

For all of her irritation, it was kind of nice to be here with them. At least they went out of their way to spend time with her, unlike SOME people she knew but didn’t want to think about. She’d really rather spend this bad day with people that cared enough to be around her, than people who didn’t.

“So then, I told him to keep looking, because I knew Uncle Frank was in there somewhere, but guess what?” Buford said, sitting down, continuing before Jacob could even guess. “He wasn’t even in the IKEA, to begin with!”

“That is an… interesting story, an interesting story.” Jacob mumbled, sitting down as well. 

“It totally was! What do you think, Renee?”

“Oh, uh…” Renee looked up, taken aback by the fact that she was SUPPOSED to be listening to the story. Quick, think of something! “Yes, it was very interesting! Like what Jacob said! I especially liked ze part with ze IKEA?”

Renee gave a rather unconvincing half-smile, hoping that her friends would buy it.

Buford seemed to, smiling as well, though genuine. “Cool! I liked that part too! But as I was saying, I was fortunate that fake legs don’t get tired like regular-”

Renee began to drone Buford out again as she looked over the menu. Despite it being relatively small, she couldn’t focus. Come on, Renee, what kind of bagel do you want? Everything? Nothing? Nothing at all? No, maybe just a plain bagel, that’ll do.

She wondered if the cliche excuse of “I’m not hungry” would work today. She hoped it would because it wasn’t like it was a lie, she really wasn’t hungry. Even on days where she wasn’t being a total jerk, she wasn’t often one to eat much. Perhaps just get a plain bagel, take it home and throw it out- No, that’d just be wasting money, just try to eat as much as you can? And then maybe her friends wouldn’t worry, she did NOT need them worrying.

Even if she was being a hypocrite, and worrying the entire day. She also felt like a hypocrite for another reason, this was probably how Buford felt when he was sick, and look how that turned out. He nearly died and ended up losing his legs. Though, having pneumonia and just being moody were two different things entirely, and she doubted she’d go through the same trouble he did.

After what felt like an eternity of drowning in her own garbage thoughts, the waitress finally came over. Without even waiting to be asked what he wanted, Buford immediately went “HI, YES, CAN I HAVE AN EVERYTHING BAGEL PLEASE WITH CREAM CHEESE? OH AND SOME ROOT BEER.”

The waitress wrote everything down, seemingly immune to Buford’s shouting, while Renee rubbed her ears, trying not to snap at him. She knew he couldn’t control his inside voice at all, and this wasn’t exactly something he never did before, so why was she getting so upset?

It didn’t make any sense.

“I’ll just… have a plain bagel. Just a plain bagel. And some water.” Jacob muttered after Buford was finished. He was also trying to recover from the shoutfest, it seemed. He glanced at Renee. “What about you?”

“I’ll… just have what he’s having.”

The waitress nodded, before heading off to deliver their order, thus beginning a rather awkward silence that Renee silently hoped would last. Not because she didn’t want to talk to her friends, it was just that she didn’t want them to know that she wasn’t alright. Nobody needed to know.

“Geez, you look like a mess, Renee.” Buford suddenly blurted out, back to his calm tone, for the time being. 

“Buford!” Jacob cried out. “You can’t just say things like that! Don’t worry, Renee, I’m sure he didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine.” She said, nonchalantly. Any other day she’d probably chide Buford and tell him to keep his mouth shut, but today? She just didn’t have the energy to care over what was being said.

“You sure, I mean-”

“I said it’s  _ fine _ .” She stated, accidentally raising her voice a little. Seeing her friends concerned glances at her, she added, “I mean I probably do look like a mess.”

She let out a fake laugh, one laced with tiredness and desperation. “Right? Right.”

Jacob and Buford simply glanced at each other, worried for Renee. However, knowing how she could be sometimes, they decided not to push their luck. 

“So…” Jacob began, trying to move onto a different topic. “That story really was something, Buford!”

Buford seemed to have caught on, and smiled, looking at Jacob. “Yea! I even saw a bear!”

Renee rolled her eyes, perhaps finally forgetting her troubles, if only for a moment. “Zere are no bears in Mo-real, and even if zere were, zey wouldn’t be hanging out downtown.”

Buford squinted. “Are you saying that I made it up?”

“Well, non. It’s just you have a habit of making stories more ‘exciting’ zan zey really are.”

“Oh yea, now that I think about it, It was a  _ really _ hairy guy!”

Renee simply facepalmed while Jacob was now the one to roll his eyes, muttering “Oh Buford, oh Buford.”.

Thankfully, the awkwardness ended not even a minute later when the waitress returned with their food. Buford immediately began to scarf it down, ignoring the looks of his peers. 

That’s what Renee liked about Buford, somewhat. Secretly, she liked that he was able to so confidently do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, without the fear of people judging him for it.

However, sometimes it pays to have a little bit of self-respect. Especially when you’re wolfing down food in an obnoxious manner, making your boothmates embarrassed to be seen with you, let alone be friends with- Okay, okay, that’s going too far. At least Buford had found some sense of joy, however shriveled of a flower it may be, that so many people seem to lack in this day and age.

Renee sometimes wished her mindset was more like that, but she was fine being neat and polite too. At least people took her more seriously, right? That’s what her mother said mattered- No, forget her.

At the mere thought of her ‘mommy dearest’, Renee scowled, staring at the bagel in front of her, as if it was the sole conspirer for everything going wrong today. Her thoughts and worries, gone for the time being, were back, and they were even larger than before, making her feel nauseous.

She felt like she was either going to throw up, faint, or cry, but no, she couldn’t. She had to stay strong. Her father had always- No, no, no! Stop thinking about him! 

Jacob noticed Renee’s inner trauma and mental exhaustion, seeing it physically manifest as slight hyperventilation and shaking. “Renee, are you okay? Are you?”

Snapping up at hearing his question, her thoughts went into overdrive, and she and her body only had one goal in mind.  _ She had to get out of here.  _

Like a wild animal, she quickly scrambled out of the booth, unfortunately missing a step, causing her to hit the floor with a pitiful and anxiety-ridden ‘Mph!’.

“Renee!” Jacob fumbled to help her up, but she shoved his hand away. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Jacob was speechless, however, Renee didn’t apologize for her outburst and instead bolted straight out the door. After a few moments of silence, Buford looked up from his plate. “What… What happened? Wasn’t Renee just here a second ago?”

“She was, she was.” Jacob stared into the space she’d vacated with curiosity. What had caused her to need to leave in such an agitated and anxious rush? This wasn’t like the Renee that he knew. The one that would scoff at the idea of ‘freaking out like that.’

“That’s a shame, say, if she’s not here then…” Buford eyed the uneaten bagel on what was Renee’s plate. Without waiting for Jacob to say anything, he grabbed it and began the process of scarfing food down yet again.

Jacob was too busy with his own thoughts to try to stop Buford. Instead, he was debating the proper course of action to take. Should he try to investigate why Renee ran off like that, and make sure she was alright? Or should he just leave her be?

But then his thoughts drifted back towards Buford, his right-hand man. Even though many months have passed since the aforementioned ‘February incident’, he still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he reflected on what happened, and that maybe if he reacted faster, then-

No, enough about that. Perhaps he  _ should _ go and check up on her, it was better to be safe than sorry, wasn’t it? Maybe fate was giving him another chance to make the right choice, to help a friend  _ before _ some tragedy robs them of something. Buford’s legs might not have been able to be saved, but perhaps Renee wasn’t out of reach. Either that, or Renee was just going through what his eldest sister called ‘Girl Puberty’, whatever that was. Apparently it makes girls VERY emotional, and the only cure? Chocolate.

“That’s it!” Jacob said, jerking Buford from his food-related thoughts. Swallowing, the latter looked at Jacob with interest. “Uh, what’s it? Sorry, I haven’t been paying attention, again.”

“What’s wrong with Renee! Uh, you got any more plans today, Buford?” Seeing the boy shake his head, Jacob continued. "To save Renee from the awful plague of puberty, we must go on an epic quest. An epic quest!"

"Really?! Where?!" 

"To the store."

"Oh."

"I know, it sounds boring, but do you want Renee to suffer any longer than she has to?"

"Renee's suffering?! Well of course I'm in!"

Jacob resisted another eyeroll at Buford's continuing obliviousness, and put some money on the table. "Come on, we got a Renee to save!"

By the time Jacob and Buford arrived at Renee's 'house', it was a little over two. It wasn't exactly a house, per say, more like a giant several story mansion that made both Jacob's and Buford's houses look minuscule in comparison.

“Renee lives in a castle.” Jacob commented quietly, reaching for the doorbell. Buford nodded along, looking around. “Wonder why she never invites us over?”

“I’m thinking it has something to do with who her family is,” Jacob confessed, waiting on the welcome mat. “I mean, she never really talks about her family all that much, and I don’t want to pry or anything, and I won’t, but like, there has to be a reason why she kept it from us.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want us to think of her as some snobby rich girl.” Buford added, looking at the doorbell that felt like miles and miles away, though in reality, was just a few feet.

“Maybe. Then she’d just be snobby.” Jacob joked, trying to lighten the mood. Gripping the few bars of chocolate Buford and him snagged from the store, he once again raised his hand towards the doorbell, hovering it in suspense.

“Well, are you gonna ring it or not?” Jacob looked at Buford, then at the bars of chocolate in his hand, and then back at the doorbell. Well, here goes nothing. Ringing the doorbell, he stepped back, his heart pounding for some inexplicable reason.

Letting out a shaky sigh, he and Buford waited, every second feeling like an hour. Finally, the door opened, though the person wasn’t Renee or her parents. It was an old person who slightly resembled Miss. Sweetiepie, Jacob’s senior neighbor.

“Well, look who we have here! Such darling little boys! Are ze local scouts having anozer fundraiser already?”

‘She must be Renee’s grandmother.’ Jacob thought. “I’m Jacob and the guy over there is Buford, we’re here to see Renee.”

“Oh, you must be my granddaughter’s friends! She talks about you a lot!  _ At least somebody besides me cares.” _ Miss. Ratelle muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” Buford asked, cocking his head slightly.

“Oh, nozing!” 

“Well,” Jacob started, looking down at the chocolate bars once more, “Renee’s been acting weird today, and my sister said that girls act like that every once in a while, so I got her this chocolate? She said it helped.”

Miss Ratelle immediately blushed. “Oh goodness no, zat’s not what’s wrong wiz her! But it  _ is _ very considerate of you two.”

“Then what is wrong? What is wrong?!”

“Well, I zought you would have known, but I’m not zat surprised zat she didn’t tell you. She’s not exactly an open book, hah hah.”

“I’ll say.” Jacob stated, before looking at Buford. “Hey, Buford, is anything special going on today that we might’ve forgotten about? Something that would’ve made Renee upset if we  _ did _ hypothetically forget about it?”

“Lemme think.” Buford responded, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. “Well, today’s Saturday. We didn’t miss an anniversary considering we’re not dating anyone, oh, our friendaversary  _ is _ coming up in September, but that’s more of a me and you thing-”

“Buford.”

“It’s also national spoil your pet day, but Renee doesn’t have a pet so-”

“Buford!”

“Alright, I got nothing.”

Jacob nodded. “I see that. Why don’t we just ask Renee’s grandmother what the big thing is?”

“It’s her Birzday.” Miss. Ratelle interrupted.

“Oh.  _ Ohhhhh. _ ” Jacob said, finally understanding, before facepalming. “Of course she’d be upset that we forgot her birthday! I didn’t even know when it was, I’m that much of a bad friend!”

“Well, It’s not zat she’s upset because you forgot.” Miss Ratelle said, looking away. “It’s a razer long story.”

“Well, we got time! If it helps us make Renee feel better, then I’m all for a long story, right, Buford?”

“Right!”

Miss. Ratelle giggled. “You’re too sweet. _If only I had children zat were_ _half as zoughtful as you two are.”_

Jacob wanted to ask Miss. Ratelle what she meant, but decided that it was better to just wait, having an itching feeling that he’d figure it out sooner or later.

“Come along, zis I prefer to tell you when you are sitting,” She led them into a small parlor room, and they settled down in a seating set with matching floral patterns. It definitely looked like a place an old woman would like to live in, but Jacob kept that to himself.

“Renee’s mozer was a darling young woman once. Very neat and kind, and very well-liked among her peers. But she always dreamt so big, and her ego got ze best of her. Especially when she won ze election.”

“Election?” Buford asked, more curious than ever.

“Buford! Don’t interrupt her story!”

“It’s quite alright. Now, as I was saying, your friend’s mozer was quite ze overachiver, always needing to be ze best in everyzing. She, like so many ozers, zought she could change ze world, you know, typical daydream future stuff. But unlike zem, she never stopped zinking about zat daydream. Zat is what lead to her unfortunate downfall.”

‘Downfall?’ Jacob thought, reflecting on Miss. Ratelle’s words. Maybe he was right, maybe Renee’s family did have something to do with her being so closed in and private about herself and her personal life.

“Now, Renee’s fazer, however, was a very aloof and distant man. Never had time for anybody, not even ze supposed ‘love of his life’. Despite zat, it seemed he had a certain spell on my daughter, corrupting and bending her mind into somezing it was never meant to be. He basically groomed her into running for office, so he could have ze money and fame zat came wiz it. Ignoring my pleas, she got hitched to zis disgusting man, zinking zey actually had somezing. Now zey’re stuck in a loveless engagement, but neizer want to call it off, afraid of losing what zey currently have, money, lots of it.” Miss. Ratelle continued, looking absentmindedly at the floor.

“But zat’s not the worst of it. Renee’s mozer needed a heir to her zrone of political power, you know, guarantee her family’s success even after her parents are long gone. So zey had Renee, not for ze joy of having and raising a kid, but simply so zey can rest knowing zeir fortune is ‘safe.’ She has never known ze kind of love she should have, from eizer of zem.” She finally finished her story, and Jacob saw what looked like a few tears in her eyes.

“That’s a horrible story!” Buford blurted out all of a sudden. “Where’s the happy ending?!”

“Sometimes, stories don’t have happy endings.” Miss. Ratelle sighed, before looking up. “But, maybe this one can. Even zough her parents are lost causes, you two can show her ze love zat zey don’t. Family isn’t always bound to blood or bloodlines.”

Jacob understood what she meant. He felt like his friends were as close to him as his siblings were, he really did. But did Renee? Either way, he stood up, feeling determined. “We can start right here and right now. It’s her birthday, right? We should at least do  _ something _ for her. Something!”

But what? What could the two possibly do for their friend to show their love and appreciation? Well, there was a lot they  _ could _ do, but what would be the one that would actually  _ mean _ something to her? Renee, like her father, was rather aloof in her ways, and it often took something special for her to open up even a little bit. 

If the wrong steps were taken, they could end up ticking her off even more. It was just like Renee to call someone out for being too much of a ‘nosy tryhard.’ At the same time, they couldn’t just sit back and let another birthday go unnoticed. Out of options, Jacob turned to the only family member that seemed to care about Renee.

“What do you think Renee would like?”

“It’s up to you to decide.” She stated, cryptically.

“What if she doesn’t like it, what if she doesn’t?” Jacob cried out. “You know how she is, she’s not exactly an easy person to please!”

Miss. Ratelle laughed. “You sound just like her, always wanting to make someone happy, even if zat somebody isn’t deserving of it. Besides, if you zree really are good friends, zen whatever you decide to do for her, she will appreciate it.” Her voice was full of grandmotherly wisdom.

Buford stood up, taking a second to wobble uneasy before regaining his balance. “I got an idea! I know how to make her happy!”

He then proceeded to whisper into Jacob’s ear, who then nodded. “That’s perfect! Perfect!”

As the boys conversed among themselves, a small shadow could be seen along the doorframe, unnoticed by any of them. It was none other than the youngest Ratelle, heartbroken beyond belief. She knew her parents didn’t care that much about her, but never did she ever consider that she was born simply so that her family, no, her _ parents _ , could remain in power.

The sickening feeling from before returned at full force and before she could register what was happening, she was running down the hallway, tears bristling her eyes. She managed to control herself to not slam her bedroom door open, not wanting the three to hear her presence. They couldn’t see her like this, not when she was at her weakest.

Slowly creaking the door open and shutting it softly behind her, she slumped against it, sobbing as quietly as she could. Her heart was in a million little pieces. It shouldn’t surprise her that this was the truth but she was still hurt by it somehow.

A thought suddenly came to her damaged mind: ‘Run away.’

What? No, she couldn’t. Even though her parents have hurt her once again, she couldn’t just leave her friends and grandmother behind just like that. She would stay right here in Montreal, where she belonged.

But did she truly belong here? Or was it just another thing that her parents made her think? Despite attempting to push the nasty thought away, it kept coming back and back, each time stronger and stronger.

‘You could erase all the damage done, and show your parents who’s really in charge.’ It chided. ‘They won’t have a heiress to claim the ‘throne’, so their little scheme will fall right through.’

‘But my friends, I can’t leave zem behind!’ She thought back, trying to reason with the impulsive side of herself.

‘Sure you can. Do you  _ really  _ think they care? After you run away, they’ll eventually just forget about you, and move on with their lives. After all, you have always been a bit of a jerk to them, haven’t you?’

‘Zat’s not true!’ She internally snarled.

‘Oh, but it is. It’s a wonder how you remained friends, considering how you used to treat them. Quite awful, non?’

‘Hey, only I get to use French sayings! But, you’re right. I did treat zem awful, and I probably still do.’ She found herself starting to agree with the inner voice in her mind, as much as she didn’t want to.

‘That’s okay, though! We can still fix everything! The first train out of this dump town leaves at five’o’clock, remember? If we leave now, we’ll be able to make it to the train and bam! We’ll be able to start a new life, free from the troubles of our past! No more Miss. Senate’s Daughter, you’ll be the Rebel Ratelle!’

‘Rebel Ratelle, huh?’ Renee pulled herself up, looking around her room for a few brief moments, mulling everything over. Her usually logical thoughts were still clouded with hurt, and at the only moment all she wanted was to have the pain and grief stop. If this was the only way, so be it.

As she walked towards her window from which she’d make her escape, she thought about Jacob and Buford once more. She knew they’d miss her, but as the nagging voice in her mind stated before, they would eventually forget about her, right? They had to. Who would want to remember a jerkish snobby person like herself anyways?

The least she could do was leave a note. Perhaps one that said she was sorry for being such a horrible friend and that this was the only way to make it up to them. Yeah, that’d work. Stepping away from the window for the time being, she got out a pen and a piece of paper, and hastily scribbled out a goodbye note.

Placing it on her nightstand, she now had to figure out how to climb out of the window without getting hurt. She couldn’t just walk out of the mansion, it was too risky. Spotting the curtains, she got an idea.

She could tie something around the curtain rods and use it as some kind of rope. The curtains themselves were too small, but there had to be some other kind of rope-like object that she could use, one that could support her weight. But what? 

As she gazed around her room, perhaps for the last time, she spotted her bedsheets. Bingo. Pulling them off of her bed, she tied it to the curtain rods and opened her window up. Grabbing the sheets in her hand, she carefully made her decent, feeling fear and excitement. Was this what it felt like to be rebellious? She liked it.

After what felt like a few nerve wracking moments of waiting for the sheets to snap, her feet touched the soft wet grass surrounding the mansion. She was finally free from the pain and strife of her life. The warmth of the sun had never felt so relaxing before. 

However, before she could reflect on her newfound freedom any longer, her stomach growled and she realized that she had forgotten to pack anything before she left. 

She facepalmed, muttering some rather obscene French swear words. Only people like Jacob and Buford made mistakes like this, not her! Whatever, it was too late to go back now. Even though she could simply go back up the bedsheets and back into her room and pack up, that’s what cowards did. She was Rebel Ratelle, and she was already good and gone.

Thankfully, she always had a good amount of money on her, coming from a rich family and all. She currently had enough on her to pay for a train ticket and whatever other essentials she needed, including food.

All she needed now was to start her journey. Even though it was barely past three thirty, and the train wouldn’t leave for another hour and a half, it would take a little while to walk there, so it was best to get going now, before it was too late. 

Well, even if she did miss the train, she could just wait a little while for the next one. But, being Renee at heart, she still liked to be on time, it was just who she was.

She took the first step, and then the next, and pretty soon she was walking into what was a metaphorical sunset. As she continued along the path of the street, watching the cars go by, she did have second thoughts, lots of them. But it was far too late to turn back now, she had made her choice and now she had to live with it. Nobody said running away was easy.

Back at the mansion, Jacob was also having conflicted thoughts. As soon as Renee’s feet had touched the grass, even though Jacob wasn’t aware of what was going on, he knew  _ something _ was wrong.

He had gotten so into the ‘birthday planning’ with Buford that he realized how much time had actually passed by. They had to set this into motion now, or it’d be too late.

“We gotta get going, Miss. Ratelle. Thanks for having us, thanks.” He began, heading towards the door.

“Anytime, sweethearts! Do you need help finding ze way out?”

Jacob thought for a moment. “I think we got it. Come on, Buford. Let’s give Renee a birthday she’ll never forget!”

“Aw yea! This’ll be just like my Uncle Ian’s birthday! Minus the pony and the house fire!”

After a little while of walking, it turned out that they did  _ not _ have it. They were totally lost in this labyrinth of a house, if they could even call it that. Doors which lead to more doors, which only lead to even more doors, it was maddening. How could Renee live in a place like this? She has to have a map, she has to.

It sure would stink if they couldn’t do the birthday thing they had planned because they were trapped in her house. Like, ‘Oh sorry, Renee, we invaded your privacy and then got lost in your house, happy late birthday by the way.’.

Buford abruptly stopped in front of a door. “Buford, what are you doing? We gotta get out of here, remember?”

“I know, but, for some reason, this door is just begging me to open it. Isn’t it telling you the same thing, Jacob?”

The boy in question turned to look at the door that Buford was talking about. While it wasn’t exactly begging him to open it, it wasn’t begging him not to either. What was the harm in doing so? They’d probably just see another bathroom, entertainment room, or some other useless room with no purpose other than to just flaunt wealth.

Jacob opened the door, and discovered it led to a bedroom. It was neat and clean, but the top blankets were a little rumpled, as if they’d been recently slept in, and against the wall leaned Renee’s skateboard. 

“Hey, Jacob! I think we just found Renee’s room! Cool!”

“I don’t know, Buford. I don’t know. I mean, if this was Renee’s room, wouldn’t she be here? I know I would go to my room, especially after what happened at the restaurant.. Maybe she just left her stuff in here?”

Buford looked around, before finding something on the nightstand. “Look! A piece of paper! I can’t believe rich people still use these!”

Jacob looked at the piece of paper, before grabbing it. “There’s something on it.”

_ “Dear friends/family/whoever decides to read this, _

_ By the time you get this note, I will be long gone. I’ve had enough of being mommy and daddy’s little tool, and I decided that it would be better if I just left. I’ve heard everything, but I’m not mad, I’m glad someone decided to speak the truth. I knew something wasn’t normal about this family. _

_ But that’s okay. I can fix the damage that has been done. _

_ To Jacob and Buford, you deserve someone better than me. _

_ Regards, _

_ Renee R.” _

It wasn’t like Renee to be so emotionally vulnerable. The note was so personal and Jacob could tell, right away, that she had been terribly upset when writing it. Poor Renee was already having a bad day when they met up with her earlier, and now it seemed like she was running away heartbroken.

Buford, on the other hand, didn’t seem to pick up on it right away. “What does she mean, leave? She can’t just abandon her whole life, leave all of her stuff and the people who care about her behind, can she?”

“That’s the whole point of running away! The whole point!” Jacob accidentally snapped, close to tears. Regaining his composure, he tried to think about what to do, what his siblings or parents would do in his shoes. “Buford, what’s the fastest way out of Montreal?”

“The train station, why?”

“Because, we live on an island. If she doesn’t want us to follow her, she’ll obviously want to take the fastest way, right? If we leave now, we can make it to the train station and stop her!”

“What a good idea! But, quick question, how are we gonna get out of her house?”

“Uhh…”

Jacob looked around, before spotting an open window. Walking up to it, he noticed that a certain someone had already beaten him to his plan.

Picking up the tied down bedsheets, he prepared to climb down. “This must be what she used to escape. You ready to do a little climbing, Buford?”

“Sure! I’ll be like a mountain goat!”

Slightly smiling at his friend’s enthusiasm, Jacob handed him the sheet, while he began his descent. It wasn’t too bad of a climb, especially when compared to some of his past adventures, until he got low enough that Buford began to climb down above him. 

Apparently, fake legs were  _ not _ meant to be used for climbing of any kind. Because as soon as Buford took a single step, he lost his footing, which caused him to panic and tightly hold onto the sheets. 

“Hang on, Buford!” But before Jacob could do any kind of heroic act to save his friend, the sheets couldn’t handle the weight of both of them and began to rip.

“Uh-oh.” Was all Buford managed to get out before the fabric completely tore and he was sent falling towards the ground. Jacob, unable to move, could only watch in fear as Buford fell towards him.

“Umph!” Jacob exclaimed as Buford landed right on top of him, knocking him over. Thankfully, Jacob wasn’t that hurt, and neither was Buford, since he had the former to cushion his fall.

“Sorry, Jacob! Are you okay? I mean that was a really far height!” 

“I should be asking you that. Like a mountain goat, huh? Like a mountain goat.”

Buford got up and brushed himself off. “I’m fine, I’ve been through worse. Between accidentally getting sent to a trash dimension and losing my legs, falling from a window is the  _ least _ of my worries.”

“You don’t have to keep bringing it up, you know.”

“Yea, but I’m just trying to make a point.”

“Alright, you can make a point later, right now we just need to get to the train station!” Then another thought occurred to Jacob. Would they make it there in time? It was pretty far away from where they were now, and he wondered if they’d make it there in time. They  _ could _ skateboard, but...

“Aw man! Aw man! My skateboard’s at my house!” Jacob groaned, remembering that he didn’t  _ think _ he’d need to use it today. How wrong he was.

“I got you covered!” Buford then proceeded to dig through his backpack, before pulling out his skateboard and two helmets.

“How do you even keep a skateboard- Nevermind, let’s just go.” Jacob put on one of the spare helmets, getting ready to piggyback ride all the way to the train station.

“Oh yea, one more thing, you’re gonna have to drive, Jacob. I’m still learning how to skateboard with my legs.” 

Jacob nodded and jumped on, waiting for Buford. Feeling his friend hold him close, he took off. “Renee, here we come!”

Renee walked down the train station, it was almost time. Soon, she’d truly be free. While her train didn’t arrive for another 5 minutes, she wanted to at least admire a little bit of the view before she left.

Montreal was ‘quite ze interesting place’, she’d gladly admit. Full of interesting people and things to do, but it wasn’t the place for her. She needed to go somewhere else and be someone else, it felt like the only way.

But again, it didn’t come without it’s dilemma. She would miss her friends and grandmother very dearly, and even though she was certain she’d make new friends, they could never replace her soon to be old ones. She doubted nobody on earth could be as interesting as Buford, besides maybe his family, and well, while she was sure there was a ton of people like Jacob, none of them could ever replace him.

Seeing her train roll up, she moved to get in line to board. There was a small pit in her stomach, something telling her to get out of the way and to leave, but she refused to listen. As the line got shorter and shorter, she saw the opening of the train, beckoning her to enter.

Just as she was about to step in, confirming her departure from Montreal, she heard her name being called in a loud, familiar voice. She looked up, and had barely one second to register before she felt something barrel right into her.

Brushing herself off, her shock was replaced by anger that could only come from someone of a French background. “WHAT IN ZE WORLD IS YOUR PROB-”

Looking up, her anger was once again replaced by shock. It was Buford, concerningly looking down at her. What was  _ he  _ of all people doing here?! “Buford?! What are you doing?!”

“Stopping you from making a horrible decision!” He barked back, and as she turned to look behind him, she saw Jacob running up. Oh great. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that they learnt about her ‘runaway plans’.

“We found your note! You can’t go, Renee! You can’t! You belong here, even if your parents are stinky no good people!”

“Do I belong here, Jacob? Do I?” She was once again on the brink of tears, as people gathered around, watching the scene unfold.

“Yes! Why would you even think anything else?”

“Because, I thought you didn’t care about me.” 

“What?! What?! What made you think that?!”

“Yea!” Buford chimed in. “We love you! In a completely platonic way!”

Well… her parents surely didn’t love her, in any way, but at least her friends did.

“I don’t know. Zere was zis voice in my head, telling me zese awful zings. It told me zat you’d just forget about me, and zat I could… fix ze damage.”

Jacob hugged her. “We’d never forget about you, never! And besides, you can still fix whatever damage, without leaving Montreal.”

“Really? How?”

Buford joined in the hug as well. “By staying with us. We’re like three peas in a pod!”

“Yea! Forget about your parents!” Jacob added.

“We’ll be your parents!” Jacob and Renee looked at Buford oddly. “Oh, too much? Well, we can just give you the love that they don’t!”

Renee began to cry again, but this time, tears of joy. “Zank you. It means a lot to me.”

Returning the hug, the crowd above them immediately awwed, followed by the train blowing its horn and leaving the train station, going wherever its wheels would take it. But that didn’t bother Renee. Banishing the evil thoughts from her head for good, she was able to finally feel happy for once that day.

She would stay in Montreal, where she belonged.

After what felt like an eternity, they pulled apart from the hug. “So, what was zat whole surprise birzday zing going to be about, anyways?”

Jacob blushed, remembering. “Oh, yea! I totally forgot! Well, it wasn’t much, we were just gonna have you come to my house for some pizza and cake, you know, nothing too fancy-smancy. We can still do it, if you want, I mean, if you don’t, that’s fine!”

She got up, and brushed herself off. “I’d love to.”

Buford stood up as well, pulling out his skateboard and  _ three _ helmets. “So, who wants to drive?”

Jacob rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll just call a cab.”


End file.
